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Heat cool Cavs to stay in hunt
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THE Miami Heat kept their playoff hopes alive on Monday with a 124-121 overtime victory over Cleveland that dropped the reigning NBA champions Cavaliers to second in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs, locked in a duel with the Boston Celtics for the top seed in the East, nevertheless rested stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Miami.
“The most important thing is for us to give those guys a rest,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “They have carried the load all season.”
Cleveland suffered its second overtime defeat in as many days, having squandered a 26-point fourth-quarter lead in a stunning loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Against the Heat, the visitors took a 91-80 lead into the fourth, but Miami stormed back to force overtime and claim the win.
Tyler Johnson had 24 points and Hassan Whiteside added 23 and 18 rebounds as the Heat snapped a three-game home losing streak.
Deron Williams, starting at point guard in place of Irving, led Cleveland with 35 points. Kevin Love added 25 with 10 rebounds before he fouled out with 34 seconds left in overtime.
With the Celtics beating the Brooklyn Nets 114-105, the defeat dropped the Cavs one game behind Boston for first place in the conference.
James has said he isn’t concerned about the top seed, and teammate Kyle Korver said on Monday that the Cavs just want to get the postseason under way. “I think we’ve shown that when we’re focused we’re a really good team,” Korver said of the Cavs, despite a ragged end to the regular season.
Also, it was: Pacers 120, 76ers 111; Bulls 122, Magic 75; Bucks 89, Hornets 79; Wizards 105, Pistons 101; Trail Blazers 99, Spurs 98; Clippers 125, Rockets 96; and Jazz 105, Warriors 99.
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